After failing to reach a long-term deal before Tuesday’s deadline, the Carolina Panthers were forced to use the franchise tag to retain the services of All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman for at least one more season.
Norman emerged as a star in 2015, playing an integral role for one of the league’s top defenses at the position which was otherwise most devoid of health and consistent performers. NFL.com rated the 28-year-old as the second-best free agent in the 2016 class, behind only Denver edge rusher and Super Bowl MVP Von Miller.
Though long-term contract discussions are currently dead in the water, the offseason is long, and there’s little doubt that the Panthers front office will continue to work on Norman’s agent, Dave Butz, to lock up the South Carolina native for up to five years. Last year, the Cowboys showed that the franchise tag is not a set-in-stone decision when they extended receiver Dez Bryant in mid-July, just before the deadline for signing franchise-tagged players to new contracts.
If they are unable to reach a new contract, Norman will earn $13.95 million under the tag — the average value of the five highest-paid cornerbacks currently in the league. That’s a fair number, to be sure, but there’s good reason for both sides to work toward a longer deal.
For the Panthers, Norman is one of just five cornerbacks actively under contract for the team and only one, Bene Benwikere, is signed past the 2016 season. And with the cap rising rapidly — it rose $12 million or 8.4 percent from 2015 to 2016 — Norman will assuredly ask for a corresponding increase in base salary next season, which could bring a $14 million average salary to over $15 million. If the team used the franchise tag on him again in 2017, his contract would jump to nearly $16 million.
With approximately $15.2 million in cap space remaining after using the franchise tag, the Panthers have ample room to re-sign the few remaining free agents who are worth retaining, especially if they release defensive end Charles Johnson, which would add $11 million in space — and the recent meeting with Quinton Coples suggests the team is leaning in this direction.
However, Carolina has a number of significant contributors set to become free agents next year, including Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kawann Short and fellow starters Michael Oher, Star Lotulelei, Ted Ginn Jr., Kurt Coleman and Andrew Norwell. Adding Norman to that list would turn balancing these contract negotiations from a headache to a nightmare.
On Norman’s side, there is even more risk associated with playing the 2016 season under the franchise tag. If he maintains his elite level of play, his market value will increase by a modest amount — likely by no more than $2 million — but if he suffers even a minor injury or is simply less productive while on the field, his market value could feasibly drop by twice that much or more.
Any more than $14.02 million would make Norman the highest-paid cornerback in the league, surpassing Darrelle Revis, and he’s likely waiting for a contract offer in that neighborhood. Spotrac estimated his current value at $13.8 million per year, but the Panthers are understandably hesitant to pay up, given that he’s only recently proved himself to be an elite player, whereas Darrelle Revis had six Pro Bowl visits under his belt at the time of his contract.
Both sides clearly have reason to be cautious in their approach to these negotiations, but waiting it out for another year is unlikely to be mutually beneficial. Norman is now a rich man, set to make nearly five times his previous career earnings in 2016, but it may be his cockiness that will be his ticket out of Charlotte in 2017, as the Panthers have had a knack lately for finding great replacement players at just the right time and could be playing this game again with their star cornerback.
